1. Technical Field
This document relates to methods and materials involved in the removal of senescent cells within a mammal. For example, this document provides transgenic non-human animals that can be induced to delete senescent cells.
2. Background Information
Cellular senescence, which halts the proliferation of damaged or dysfunctional cells, is widely recognized as an important mechanism to constrain the malignant progression of tumor cells (Campisi, Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev., 21:107-112 (2011); and Kuilman et al., Genes Develop., 24:2463-2479 (2010)). As cells senesce, they can develop a unique phenotype, referred to as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP, or alternatively called SMS), in which they acquire the ability to secrete a variety of growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and proteases (Coppe et al., PLoS Biol., 6:2853-2868 (2008)). The observation that senescent cells can accumulate in several tissues and organs during organismal aging and are present at sites of age-related pathologies has led to speculation that they contribute to aging and age-related dysfunction (Campisi, Cell, 120:513-522 (2005)).